I'll Walk
by Kiminator Mark XII
Summary: St in modern day. When Mai and Zuko get in a fight on Prom night, Mai decides to walk home. But when she gets hit by a car, will she ever be able to walk again? Maiko. Oneshot.


**A/N:** Okay, another Maiko oneshot, what a surprise. Actually, I find that I have a short attention span so it's easier for me to write oneshots. Anyway, this story was inspired by the song "I'll Walk" by Bucky Covington. So this is set in modern day and BOTH Zuko and Mai are eighteen because it makes this story a whole bunch easier to write. Oh, yeah! Many thanks to my awesome beta, 3VAD127!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Avatar. _If I did, well, I wouldn't be writing this, now would I? (Beta: Take it from me—she doesn't own anything, much less a multi-million dollar franchise like _Avatar_.)

* * *

"Do you want to dance?" a pretty brunette asked.

"Sure, Katara," Zuko said, getting up from beside his girlfriend, Mai. "I'll be right back, Mai."

She nodded but looked away from him, somewhat bitter. Wait, was she jealous? How could she be jealous of that over-dressed, perfect little prep? It was the Senior Prom, and _this _time she was wearing a soft blue, strapless, mermaid-style dress that was interwoven with silver threads that made it sparkle beautifully in the light. Mai certainly wasn't jealous of _that_. Zuko was her boyfriend, not that prep's.

The song ended, and Zuko walked back over to her and casually sat down. She had to admit, he looked stunning with his shaggy hair let loose and his scar worn prouder than ever. He was wearing a black suit with a red shirt underneath and a gold tie. All of his favorite colors. _Maybe I can let that little dance go, _Mai decided, settling into his chest. She looked up at Zuko but noticed that he was looking somewhere else. She followed his gaze to that blue-eyed brunette, busy showing her stuff out on the dance floor.

Mai stood up suddenly and purposely blocked his view.

"What?" he asked.

"Zuko, take me home."

"Why? It's not over for another hour."

"Take me home NOW."

"B-but Mai…"

She shook her head and grabbed his arm, practically dragging Zuko behind her. After they were outside, he dug in his heels and stopped them.

"Why do you want to go home all of the sudden?"

"Ugh, just get in the car," Mai said, pushing past her boyfriend and stepping up to the black Hummer.

Zuko had just recently inherited his father's huge company when he was put in jail for child abuse and attempted murder. She knew that the child abuse was for burning Zuko; they had just gotten the evidence they needed, but she didn't know about the attempted murder. Whatever.

Zuko just hook his head and unlocked the car, climbing into the driver's seat. They pulled out of the parking lot when he asked Mai again, "Just tell me why."

"You men are all the same!"

"What in the world are you talking about?!"

"Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I didn't see you looking at that perfect little prep?"

"Who? Katara? Mai, I told you, we're just friends."

"Yeah right," she scoffed.

"What? Now you're calling me a liar?!"

"No, I'm just saying, that look you gave her was not just an innocent friendly look."

"Well excuse me for being a man!"

They sat in silence for a little bit until Zuko finally got the extent of her arguing. "Wait, are you saying that I'm cheating on you?!"

"No, not at all…" Mai said sarcastically.

"Mai! How could you think that? Why would I want any other girl besides you?! You are so thick-headed sometimes!!"

"Pull over, Zuko, now."

He did as he was told. Mai reached for the door handle, but Zuko's hand clasped her wrist. "Mai, I'm sorry, you shouldn't get out."

"Zuko," she said, trying to regain her composure, "I'll walk. Let go of my hand, I just need to think things through."

He knew she was probably right, so reluctantly, he let go of her wrist. She threw open the door and stepped out onto the road. Zuko sighed, not really knowing what to do. Should he follow her? Or should he head home and leave her alone? Knowing Mai could take care of herself, he sped up and headed for home.

* * *

Mai groaned. Her legs hurt, her back hurt, and she probably had blisters the size of golf balls. Why did she decide to walk again? Oh, yeah, she was mad at Zuko. _Great, _she looked around, _it's getting dark. _She looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a long, black dress with black high heels and long, black gloves. Smart.

The raven-haired girl heard a car behind her, so she moved to the side of the road. She looked back when she heard a screeching noise. The car swerved wildly to the side of the road. The driver was drunk, and he didn't see her. Mai did the only thing she could do. She ran. The frightened woman looked behind her, just to see the car closing in on her. She screamed.

* * *

Zuko tore up the walkway and slammed open the front doors to the hospital. He pulled up at the front desk breathing heavily.

"What can I do for you?" the woman at the desk asked.

"I need to know where they're keeping Mai Zhen."

"And you are?"

"Zuko Xi," he replied.

"Okay, Mr. Xi," she sighed, flipping through papers, "looks like she's in room 684."

"Thanks," he said, heading for the elevators.

"Mmmhmm," she looked absently at her computer screen.

Zuko really couldn't blame her for being tired. It was two in the morning. He'd gotten the call from the hospital about fifteen minutes ago and had immediately rushed over here. The young adult pushed the "up" button and waited for the elevator. And waited. And waited. Finally, he heard a ding and stepped into the elevator that had opened. Zuko impatiently pushed the button for the sixth floor and heard the elevator creak and groan as it crawled upstairs. _Slowest elevator in the world,_ he thought, trying to distract himself from thinking about Mai. For all he knew, she could've died by the time this freaking elevator made it to the sixth floor. After what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened and he stepped out, quickly picking up a jog. He skidded to a halt outside the door marked with the numbers "684." Zuko took a deep breath and opened the door… just to run into a rather attractive nurse.

"Um, you're Zuko Xi, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah."

"Well, there's something you should know," the nurse looked back at the patient nervously. "She may never be able to walk again. Right now, she's paralyzed from the waist down. It may be permanent, or it may not be; we just don't know."

Zuko felt like he had been stabbed through the heart. Mai might not be able to walk again? He nodded numbly and stepped past the nurse into Mai's room. Cautiously, he made his way over to the bed, almost afraid of what he might see. When Zuko could get a good look at her, he winced.

His girlfriend was covered in cuts and bruises, and her face was an ashen gray color. He gently touched Mai's arm and her eyes fluttered open.

"Zuko?" she rasped hoarsely. "W-what happened?"

"You were hit by a car," her boyfriend's eyes brimmed with tears. "Mai, they said you might never be able to walk again." The tears he tried so hard to contain spilled down his face. "This is all my fault, and I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let you get out of the car, and I shouldn't have left you out on the road alone."

"No," Mai said shakily, "I was stupid to get mad at you like that. It was my fault that I got hit." She smiled bravely and reached up to slip her hand into his. "Don't worry, Zuko, I'll walk."

* * *

Zuko laughed at his girlfriend's annoyed expression as they came out of the therapy center.

"Don't laugh!" she snapped. " If I have to hear 'You can do it! Come on, Mai!' one more time, I think I'll kill her."

"Oh, Mai, it's not that bad," he laughed again.

Mai glared up at him from where she was sitting in her wheelchair. "You spend and hour with her every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday and _then _we'll talk."

It had been three months since she was released from the hospital, and she'd had to go into physical therapy. Mai had made some improvement, but she still hadn't walked yet.

"Pessimist," he gave her a crooked smile, "well, I know what will cheer you up."

"What?" she asked.

"You'll see," Zuko winked.

He picked his girlfriend up, put her in the passenger's seat of his Hummer, and put the wheelchair in the back seat. The eighteen year old climbed up beside her and started the car.

"Zuko, this isn't the way home," Mai said after a few minutes of driving.

"I know," he said coolly.

"Where are we going?" She looked at him suspiciously.

Zuko just shrugged and continued to drive. The raven-haired woman smirked at him and settled back into the seat. After about twenty minutes of driving, Zuko pulled over to a deserted campsite.

"Zuko, what are we doing?"

"Just trust me," he said, getting her wheelchair out of the back seat. He set his girlfriend inside of it and started wheeling her toward the edge of what looked like a cliff. When they got to the edge, what Mai saw took her breath away. There were different hues and shades of green from the forest below, and the brilliant sunset cast an orangish-pink glow over the land.

"It's so beautiful," she commented.

"Even though you don't like orange?" Zuko teased her.

"Yes," she smiled, "even though I don't like orange."

Zuko looked over at Mai and knew that he was the luckiest man on earth right now. He fingered the ring in his pocket nervously. Would she say yes? Or would she outright say no? He took a deep breath. Here goes everything.

"Mai?" he got her attention, but then he kind of froze up, "w-well, we've known each other for a long time, and—"

"Are you trying to propose to me?" Mai looked unimpressed.

"U-um, y-yeah," Zuko stammered. He got the ring out and got down on one knee despite his nervousness.

The ring was an impressive diamond with rubies in a circle around it; all of that was set in white gold. It was a beautiful ring, if he did say so himself. And he did.

Mai's lips played up into a small smile and slowly spread until she was grinning from ear to ear. A rare sight indeed.

"Of course I will, you dork!"

A wave of relief washed over him as he slid the ring onto her slim finger. She smiled playfully at Zuko before pulling him into a long kiss.

* * *

Mai took a deep breath and wheeled around the room for about the fourth time in ten minutes.

"Mai, don't be so nervous, Honey. You'll be fine." Her father looked down at her kindly.

"But, Dad, I can't even walk, and I'm supposed to _walk _down the aisle in two minutes!"

"Honey, that's just a phrase they use, you know that."

"Yeah, I know," Mai sighed. "It's just that I've been dreaming of this day basically since the first day I met him, and it just feels all wrong."

"You're just nervous, Mai; don't worry."

She looked down a her dress, wondering what Zuko would think of it. Even though he begged her to let him see it, she had refused. It was a long, white dress that was trimmed in burgundy satin and had billowing sleeves that went well over her hands. She was wearing a dark red necklace to go along with it. Mai sighed and moved her legs slightly, she had eventually gotten the feeling back in them, and she knew should would be able to walk sometime, she just hadn't yet. But she wanted to so badly; she wanted to walk down the aisle, head held high… she just wanted to _walk_. That was it—she would walk down the aisle, no matter how hard it was. Mai looked up at the clock. One minute to go.

"Dad," she said, "I want you to help me walk."

"What?!" he turned to her.

"Fine, I'll do it by myself," she said determinedly.

Using her arms she pushed herself up out of her wheelchair, just to find out that her legs wouldn't hold her, and she collapsed onto the floor.

"Mai! What are you doing?" Her father rushed over to her side.

"Help me up," Mai demanded. "I'm going to walk."

Her father shook his head, seeing the determined glint in her eye. There was no way he was changing her mind now. Mai's father put his arm around her waist and helped her onto her feet. She stood on wobbly legs, leaning heavily on him, but she was standing. He looked over at her daughter, and she was smiling bigger than he had seen her smile in a long time.

"Okay." She took a shaky breath, "I want to try it on my own."

"Be careful." He gently let go of her.

She was shaking, but carefully, she took a step forward, and then another, and another.

"Dad, I'm walking!"she looked up at the clock. "Oh, no! I was supposed to go on two minutes ago!"

"Well, come on, honey, let's go!" Her father took her by the arm and pushed open the door.

Mai held her head up, and started walking with her father. She stumbled a couple of times, but her dad always caught her. Her legs burned like fire, and it felt like they would give way any second, but she was walking. When Mai finally got up to the alter, she could see tears in Zuko's eyes. Her father stayed with her through the vows, just in case she fell. Mai heard herself say "I do," and Zuko kissed her lightly on the lips. He picked her up off her feet as the whole congregation of people burst out clapping. The noise was almost deafening as the groom carried the bride down the aisle. Mai smiled up at Zuko, tears in her eyes this time.

"Zuko," she whispered, burying her head in his chest, "I walked."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that was fun to write! Don't you just love the last names? Yeah, whatever. Anyway, if you review… I HAVE COOKIES!! XD

Beta: We all know Sokka was _totally_ the best man in that wedding…

Me: Ugh, you dork, although, you're probably right...


End file.
